Debates over "21st century skills" continue, but some forward looking lawmakers are taking a new approach. "The time has come to move beyond this stale political deadlock and work on something we can all agree on: 22nd century skills," explained Jonathan Archer, a Massachusetts state senator. "How can we possibly focus on a century that's already here? That's not forward looking as far as I'm concerned." There is little dispute amongst scientists, philosophers, and psychics that, by the year 2100, the United States of Euro-Sino-American-Madagascar will be ruled by nanoscopic robots, communication will be primarily telepathic, and food will be grown in vast space gardens on our near neighbor Mars. Given the realities of this new universe, students will need hefty preparation in 22nd Century communication skills: thinking without revealing daydreams, listening without picking up the 5.7 million proximal conversations of the telesphere, and writing in a form of shorthand that includes no vowels, punctuation, or symbols. "Creating standards and assessments that accurately reflect these new factors is our next step," said Darth Kay, president of P-22, the lead advocacy group for 22nd Century skills. "The new realities of the robot-centric workforce mean students should be taught abstracts like critical thinking, creativity, and communication wholly outside the antiquated framework of obsolete content; such skills will maximize their labor utility while removing anything that could allow them to think for themselves or take the initiative." A report on next steps is due out by 2075.
"22nd Century Skills Are Wave of Future, Signal End of World," Robert Ponderous, Core Skills Digest, April 1, 2009